What Now?

There seem to be a few people still looking at this blog...

It could be the addiction of known what is going on in Africa...well we can't help you on that front anymore...

Perhaps people are so bored at work they figure reading MacAfrica's old stories is better than talking to Fred in accounting...

Most likely people just accidently click on their MacAfrica link in their favorites and curse our stupid trip that happened so long ago...

If you aren't careful I might just start posting about my thoughts...which I know won't be very thrilling or long or frequent!!

Grant

News

News Flash - you two are the only ones (besides me) reading this blog now. Has this replaced your rapid fire crackberry communication or is this just a more public "add on"? And everyone knows me well enough to know that I wouldn't swish and describe diet coke. DC is for thirst quenching...perhaps mindlessly passing a few minutes. Wine, on the other hand, is an intellectual discussion. A value added proposition to the precious moments that stand still in it's presence. Wine is a level of complexity that, when added to food, provides the most monumental oral satisfaction possible when one is by ones self.

Wine snob gone overboard

Yesterday, Kim and I are out enjoying Alberta's 100th Birthday and during dinner Kim raises her glass of Diet Coke...swirls it around...takes a deep sniff...sips a bit, rolls it around her delicate palate...proclaims the deep taste of caramel and the tintilating sensation of phosphoric acid tickling her throat...help!

g

We're Back!

Calgary 11:30am - We are back and enjoying the clean calmness of Calgary!! You really notice how great our City is when you have been away for awhile!

We are going to try to get some more photos up or a link to a site where the photos are posted. Also, there might be a few more stories we put up on the blog for those that we aren't going to be seeing soon - we keep thinking of more things we want to put up here.

Thanks for reading and contributing - we always looked forward to seeing what people at home were saying!!!

g&k

massaging reclining chair

Cape Town 5:47 pm - Hopkins...it is looking like you may have to tune in for next season. This season would be far too predictable with that kind of ending. Instead, let me paint you a picture. Stellenbosch was a desert compared to Constantia!!!! There may only be 5 vineyards there but it is gorgeous beyond belief! For Jenkins - picture beautiful women, long blond hair riding their horses beside the fields of grapes. Exquisite (and I'm sure very expensive) houses but the place is amazingly gorgeous and wine - let me tell you!!! There was fresh fennel, there was vanilla, there was limited release...it just doesn't get any better! Yes, we have more wine to bring home. Or should I say, I have more wine to bring home and I'm hoping that Grant will help me carry it. I think I pushed my luck with another half day of wine tasting but I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to Grant! The wine was superb!!! I think Grant would have preferred to sit in the car but he did wander in to every winery and he even tasted three wines!!

Our morning was quite the contrast with a trip to District Six Museum. District Six was a multi racial part of South Africa that lived in harmony until the 1960's with the beginning of Apartheid. The government declared it a "white only" area and shipped everyone off to the Townships. We visited the Townships afterwards which are a stark reality check of shanty town after shanty town. We did visit (perhaps to make us "tourists" feel better) the pre-school that the tour company helps to fund. 68 kids in total attend this pre-school and at the time we walked in, there were 25 kids aged 3-4 years. Our guide warned us that they are used to seeing people drop by and he said "if you pick up one, you have to pick them all up". Sure enough, with squeals of delight, these kids wrap themselves around your legs and bring you toys to play with them. They are the most wonderful kids to see and yes, I almost took a few home!! Grant informed me that you can't claim back the VAT tax on these items. So, I left them all there.

Having learned "compromise" on this trip, I've decided not to hold fast to my "last dinner" being at a winery (Grant had endured enough already). So we're off to have dinner at an Indian restaurant we tried on our first night here. THE most amazing Indian food I've ever had so I'm not too hard done by!

Looking forward to seeing everyone!!! And I am sure there will be a few more posts as we travel home ;)

k&g

Wine country - LUCKY ME!!!!

Cape Town - 5:45 pm - I can't believe I didn't get to put in my two cents worth about the wine tasting!! You can't possibly appreciate the nuances of yesterday from a guy who thought $1.50 for 500 mL of beer in Tanzania was the best thing he'd ever seen!!!! So, since our hotel has free internet access...I'll just add a few pertinent details.

First of all, I will confirm that South Africa wine tasting is by far the most generous pours I've ever seen (not a bad thing at all!) and they do export at least half of their production. For those that have an interest - apparently Canada and the US are THE hardest places to export wine.

It is incredibly difficult to find "secret" wines (ie: those you can't buy in Canada) so harbouring that small disappointment, I forge forward nonetheless! I was going to make a "wine history" - buying a bottle from every winery we visited (like I did in France with Little One!) but Mr. Practical pointed out the inefficiencies of this little project and I couldn't argue since the last time I tried it through BC we had a cheap cooler leaking water from the melted ice all over our trunk (and our luggage).

As for the snooty woman - I agree she was snooty but even snooty people can have good insight into wine. I will, in my defence, say that I was still sober enough to notice that she tried to charge me $10 insteady of $2 for the wine tasting (I'm not as "rose colored glasses" as I used to be - now I'm a force to be reckoned with!!).

We did find a fabulous winery with a very helpful tasting guy that had one of the most interesting "bordeaux blend" wines here - full of all kinds of spices...oregano, thyme, sage! It appears that "bordeaux blends" are a big crazy...next to Pinotage out of the Stellenbosch region. They also made a brandy which surprised me (and an extremely large pig living on their lawn but the pig didn't affect the wine tasting so...live and let live!).

As for our dinner (which cost less than $100 CDN)...the sommellier spoke the most beautiful French I'd ever heard! She was incredible! Since Grant was totally amivalent while I ranted about the 130 wines by the glass...I almost went home with her - simply mesmerizing!!!

Looking forward to dinner at the hotel tonight which also has a fabulous bar (confirmed by the sales guy whilst out shopping - he was very well dressed and sold me a great pair of jeans so he must be legit!). It was on the front page of the local paper today that they've just launched a new martini - with a diamond necklace in it. Grant doesn't know it but maybe I'll order that before dinner! ;)

As this is all (too) quickly coming to an end, tomorrow night I am insisting that we have dinner at a winery - notwithstanding that Grant looked at the menu and it's apparently "boring". I can't really complain as he has an excellent sense of direction, has been a great designated driver and down deep...I think he really enjoys all the adjectives and all the process of wine tasting!!

k (&g)

Wine Country, lucky me

Cape Town 3:45pm - I am currently unsupervised, so you will get a true account of our day in "Whine" Country yesterday.

As most of you know, Kim is a big time wine lover - me - can take it or leave it. So my job is to drive Kim around to all the wineries of her choice. Kim is also a poor map reader, so I have to drive and find the winery...and Kim just keeps drinking...

We get going fairly early and arrive at our first winery by around 10am...Warwick Estate. Since it is winter down here, we expect it to be very quiet at most of the spots we will go to...we are also on a quest to find wine that we can't find back home. As Kim is getting ready to taste the first wine...I am noticing the rather generous pour that has occurred...and I am worried...if this is how they poor down here, this is going to be a loooooong day for me. As I am not really into the whole wine thing, I really don't pay much attention to anything about the wineries as far as research goes, but the one thing I do know is that there is a winery that is run by a lady from Edmonton. For some reason this tiny fact has stuck in my head since I read it in the EnRoute magazine about 2 months ago...but I don't really remember the name of the winery, but Warwick could be it. I tell Kim I think it is Warwick...she is doubtful. After 3 or 4 glasses, we are chatting with the young lady who is doing the tasting for us and Kim asks if there is a Canadian connection to the winery. The young lady says, no I don't think so, but let me ask the owner. Turns out, this is the winery. The lady left Edmonton in 1972 and now her children run the Estate...small world. This winery is very low on the wine snob scale, probably about a 2 out of 10.

Our next winery is Kanonkop (or something like this). When we walk in the tasting room there are about 5 Americans there tasting already. Kim casually walks around the room, then sorta brushes by the tasting counter...the woman from the winery doesn't really acknowledge us for about 2-3 minutes...my wine snob scale has just hit a spike of 8. When the woman does welcome us up to the counter, she is really much more interested in the Americans, but tolerates us at the same time. Once the Americans leave, it is just the wine lady and us...let the wine snob talk begin. They produce 4 wines. Kim tries all 4. Big surprise. As Kim and the lady begin to discuss each wine, I am hearing Kim-"oh, I smell strawberry and chocolate"...Wine Lady (WL)-"just last weekend I paired this with chocolate the other evening, went over fabulously, if you have the right chocolate...bitter dark, of course"...K-"now that there is food associated with it, I can taste the combination, delightful"...then there is me rolling my eyes! The dialogue continues...and since I had to sit through it...so do you...WL-"can you smell cherries?"....K-"YES!"...WL-"I couldn't before one of our clients mentioned it, it is blah blah cherry from over blah blah there"...K-"now all I can smell is the cherry"...wine 3...after Kim has rinsed her glass with water, WL-"we don't want to taste water, let's rinse that out with wine" - as she rinses out with wine...oh my god. WL-"now smell this glass (the one Kim just drank out of)...when it is empty you get the true smells...less blah blah per mL"...K-"wow, that is intense"...now the 4th wine...WL-"this one has cigar and berry tones, after being aged in French and American Oak"...K-"oh yes"...WL-"and banana (pronounced in a thick South African accent, doesn't sound like banana)...I mean banana (North American accent)"...K-whimsical laugh...me snob scale is hitting 12. I don't think we can top this winery, but Kim is going to give it a try.

The comparisons of wine to other smelly objects is always interesting...we had cigars, chocolate, cherry, banana, strawberry, black tea, oaky...I am sure there were a few more, but I only had the inspiration to pay attention for a blog entry half way through the day. Lucky for me, the pours weren't all quite as aggressive as the first spot, but Kim was feeling pretty good by the end (8 wineries in total). The other comment that made me laugh was..."I like the Shiraz, it is so up front"...

As we found out, it is easier to find a secret wine in BC than South Africa. Only one winery we visited didn't export to Canada (my pick, last one of the day was chosen by me do to their excellent logo). We only purchased a case of wine...very surprising to me!!

For dinner last night we went to a steak joint which boasts the largest wine bar with wine by the glass in the world - 130 wines by the glass. We were expecting a bit of a tacky place, but it turned out to be great. You wouldn't think Kim would get as excited as she did about a wine bar after having toured around wineries all day, but she was beside herself. Once we sat down at our table, our waiter sent the sommelier over to our table. The sommelier asked us where we were from - once she heard Canada, she started speaking French to Kim (I think they were talking about me). Turns out the sommelier is from France and followed her husband to South Africa.

The restaurant has a great set up for the wine by the glass. They have a system like what is used for draft beer. Each wine has a big straw into it and nitrogen fills up the empty space, so the wine stays perfect. The average wine is up there for 3 weeks...very interesting. Kim is starring at the wine tapping system and claims she needs one herself, not 130 wines, of course...just 12 or so...such modesty.

We haven't seen Table Mountain yet, covered in the famous "Table Clothe" so far...

G (&k)

made it!

Cape Town 2:17 pm - We made it to Cape Town with no glitches from South African Airways! Although there was a moment in Zanzibar, after we paid the $8 US security fee, the $25 US "departure tax" and were subjected to a very half assed "luggage search" when Grant looked at the staff and said "what could I possibly take from this god forsaken country?!?!?". Electricity availability being a little "sketchy" at best, there was none at the airport so the security scanner didn't work...neither did the fans, or the lights...gotta love the third world! Luckily, I don't imagine that terrorism is a big threat flying out of a beach town like Zanzibar.

We managed to get on standby for an earlier flight to Cape Town (with an upgrade to Business Class!!) from Jo'burg - all on South African Airways. One redemption for SAA on the trip so far. So we got in around 9 pm last night. The city is fantastic - kind of like a British version of San Francisco. It strikes me as a fabulous city to live in!! Tons to do - lots of wine and a million amazing restaurants!! (Don't worry Mom, I'm still coming home!). It is currently pouring rain (although I'm sure that doesn't elicit any sympathy back home) so we ducked into an internet cafe quickly in the hopes that the rain would soon pass. Due to the weather, we haven't actually "seen" Table Mountain yet but hope to get there sometime in the next few days. Tomorrow looks like a wine day through Stellenboesch (yes, Jenkins - I remember about shipping wine!!) and our plans eventually include heading out to Robben Island for some Nelson Mandela history.

Although our time in Tanzania was amazing and very eye opening, WOW! Was it ever great to get back to paved roads, big cities, coffee shops and yes, even McDonalds. Grant insisted that our first meal in Cape Town came from those "Golden Arches"!! Even I find it tough to pair a wine with that - even if McDonald's did sell it!!

See you all soon!!!!

k&g

Mzungu

Stone Town, Zanzibar 8:15pm - So, picture two fantastic Canadian travelers out to experience the real Africa. How better than to try the local food at the outdoor night market...perfect.

Kim and Grant wander down to the Forodhani Market for a bite to eat...Kim appropriately attired in long skirt and long sleeves (not to offend any of the locals - who are largely Muslim)...which when you are in 28C+ weather, it is not that comfortable. Imagine hundreds of food stands - outdoor BBQ's, tables of kebabs with every variety of protein known to man, souvenir stands, fruit stands, sugarcane juicers - you name it, they have it. Our friend Sonny said you haven't experienced a country until you have eaten on the street with the locals - him having worked in Africa for many years also added the following advice - eat well cooked meat and bread only, forget everything else. So with our mind set on experiencing the local action and filling our tummies, we quickly made friends with Arif. To our suprise, Arif's brother is living in Toronto - so Arif earns himself a Canadian flag pin!!

At this point we feel like we have found lost kin. Arif talks us through the process and selection. Prawns, lobster, calimari, chicken, beef, tuna, mussels, naan bread, sweet bananas, samosas. With our selection made they toss everything back on the BBQ for a quick heat up. A few photos are taken, we laugh, we cajole - Arif finds a table to sit down...he also pitches a "spice tour" to us for tomorrow - we need permits, etc - we say we need time to discuss...I reach into my pocket to pay - Arif says no, we collect after, you enjoy the food first - Hakuna Matata!!

We quickly make friends with our table mates - Amina and her friend who is a civil engineer from Dar. Amina is a tour guide from Moshi (where we started our adventure) - once again flag pins are flying!

At this point lets make something else clear...our guide book - Lonely Planet - which did so well in guiding us to Sazani Beach Resort, comments that cheap meals - 500 Tsh ($0.50) can be easily had at the market. Also several other travelers we have met have confirmed the cheapness and goodness of the meals. Being of Scottish decent, this place is calling out to me...

Arif comes to check on us, we decide that to top off our very excellent and successful food adventure, we need to try a sweet banana. Moments later a banana appears and is chowed down...delicious!

Now, time to pay...Arif once again pitches the spice tour, we decline...no hard feelings...what do we owe for dinner? He thinks for a moment, I am expecting 5000 Tsh ($5)...he says 18,000 Tsh ($18)...the look on Kim's face must have said it all...because he then began to explain that you could get a meal much cheaper, but the quality wouldn't be the same - the vendor would just be trying to clear out inventory...so I hand over 20,000 Tsh...keep the change...always tip the guy who is swindling you...this is where hs face looked like Kim's earlier...not only did he swindle us, but gets a $2 tip...what a night (for him)!!!

We are compiling a list of the top ten things we learned in Africa...a hint to one of the items on the list...even if the guy's brother lives in your country, you've given the guy a flag and you think you are brothers, ask the price before you order at an outdoor market!!!

g&k

too hot to be outside

Zanzibar 10 am - well, it's 10 am and we've already hit the shade...wow it gets hot here! ;) The tide is currently out and teams of locals have hit the low waters in search of fish, octopus and other dinner delicacies! It's quite the "hunt and gather" scene!! We managed to get in to the local village for dinner on one occasion, which was very nice...up until about midnight when it struck me (Kim) that food poisoning may have been the "entree du jour". Luckily, 24 hours of queasiness (including a good 4 hours in bed that morning) and I seem to be as good as new. I guess not everything can be perfect...damn shrimp. I just didn't want Grant to feel alone in his vomitting.

Looks like another two dives this afternoon as there is a reef about 2 km off our very own beach. Tonight will be our last night here as we head to Stonetown (the biggest village on Zanzibar - mostly an old muslim town) for one night before going to Cape Town. We've met more lovely tourists here at Sazani including Angeline whose family owns a winery in Stellenboesch. I'm strategizing about importing since they're not currently available in Alberta...apparently they won "one of the top 100 wines of the world" - four years running in Wine Spectator!! (sorry Janice - we'll keep some for you for after the baby is born!!). Uch and Maura - Congratulations!!! There's not much stress (or rain) on our beach today!

As for all those who wanted to know what happened to Jack...yes he made it to the top of Kili when he was here several years ago. He is no longer a flip flop and shorts backpacker but has attained the respectable status as broker with First Associates (with a lovely wife and three adorable children).

k&g

Nungwi

Zanzibar 1:15 pm - Thanks Wrigglesworth! I'm looking forward to at least a couple more dives - apparently there's a decent one right off the reef on our beach! Will keep you posted!

We made our walk in to Nungwi village yesterday. A very interesting little place and obviously doing very well by the tourists arriving in droves to Zanzibar. Although the mass of resorts/restaurants are a stark contrast to the mud huts only a few minutes walk away. The locals are friendly and the little kids more than enthusiastic to wave to strangers. Someone has taught the little ones to say "money" at the first sight of a white person...not surprising I suppose. We've posted a picture of the "waste management" project on the road to Nungwi...hope you get as much humor out of it as we did!! We also found Joanne (the Canadian from Penticton) who has opened a coffee shop in the compound of her husband's family hotel. Always enthusiastic to find another Canadian we had cake and cold drinks - I couldn't manage hot coffee in 30 degree weather but hey...those are the struggles we deal with here daily. :)

Since I've completely lost track of the days...I'll wish my Baby Bro a Happy Birthday and Mom and Dad a Happy Anniversary!! Looking forward to celebrating when we get home!! BTW - Mom...are you reading this?!?! No comments from you yet? Nice restraint! Love you all!

Nancy - nice work at Tony Roma's...I'm learning a few good tricks here!!!

k&g

pix

I think/hope the pictures are now showing, so browse down to see them

Also, if you don't want to set up a user at blogger.com...you can send us an email at macafrica@gmail.com

g

Bonamine is not a wonder drug

Zanzibar 5:00 pm - Well, the weather in paradise is still slightly cloudy but it looks like sunshine for the next 5 days! We spent the rest of yesterday getting used to the cheap beers and perfecting the "hammock sleeping position". All in all very restful. Today we moved on to a little adventure. Michael (a.k.a. John Cleese) arranged a snorkel/dive trip about an hour off our shore. The very small boat (dhow) that took us out was lovely and the ocean was quite calm. Or so I thought. We arrived at our first destination and Michael and I dropped into the water with our SCUBA gear and the others carried on to their first snorkel sight. The diving is amazing. Water temperature is about 25 degrees and visibility is excellent!! More fish than you can ever imagine although nothing too outrageous on the first dive. Back into the boat for an hour rest before the second dive and none of the snorkelers are looking too enthralled with this bit of paradise.

Someone spots dolphins not too far in the distance so as I excitedly call out to Grant to look at this magnificent view, he waves me off...appearing to be currently enthralled in something he sees close to the surface on his side. Not wanting to miss any of the action, I move over to see that it's really nothing more than God's biggest toilet that Grant is enthralled with. Bonamine (a motion sickness drug) which apparently worked wonders on the cruise, has no effectiveness on board a dhow. He wasn't the only one suffering as there were two others horizontal on the front of the boat moaning also.

Notwithstanding this chaos, Michael and I dropped down for another dive and notwithstanding the dolphins visible at surface, there was no dolphin encounter 14 m under water (sadly). I did run into two fabulous turtles who stayed stationary and let us get very close. A multitude of other fish (one so big I could count his molars!!) and some ocean worms. All in all - a great success!! I'd say we'd be back for more, but that remains to be seen.

Off to tour the local village tomorrow (about a 45 minute walk). Apparently a lovely Canadian girl has set up a coffee shop - should be interesting to see amongst the mud huts!!!

k&g

We found it!

Zanzibar 1:20pm - Yes, we have found tropical paradise AND clean clothes!!! Stan is the MAN. We awoke at 5:45am on Saturday (worse than a work day!) to drive back to Arusha (a 4 hour drive) to get to Kili Airport to see if we had luggage. Upon our arrival at the airport, a bit of fanagelling...voila...2 bags belonging to Kim and Grant!!! We also found 2 lost Italian tourists who don't have a grasp of Swahili or English - so after discussing their options with their travel agent in Italy who did speak English, Kim convinced them to join us. So with our bags and 2 Italians, we headed back to Arusha to grab lunch and then grab our flight to Zanzibar!

The Arusha airport is very small...and everyone is looking for a tip...if they talk to you they want a $1. After walking about 1km to the plane filled with 21 excited vacationers - we were off! After having found our luggage, we were a bit hesitant to check them again, but ZanAir seems to have their luggage department functioning on all cylinders. The 3rd man powered luggage cart arrived with our bags on it - now off to find a driver! After 1 1/2 hours driving - the last 40 minutes over very bumpy roads - we caught a glimpse of our "resort". The drive took us through some very poverty stricken locales - we both wondered in silence if our "resort" was going to be a resort or not.

At the reception area, Michael, Sazani's English proprietor (picture John Cleese from Faulty Towers) greeted us and showed us to our room. He said he would give us the full rundown of the joint over a beer at the bar...fine by us! As we approached the bar (pictured above) we knew were going to enjoy this place! Michael explained how the bar system works...you grab two beers, you write them down - part of his cost saving mission - self bartending! We inquired to the price of the beers - $1.50 US and still 500ml - we thought beers were cheap before! Kim quickly inquired about the wine price - which are good South African wines - Michael responded that they were outrageously price at $16US per bottle!!! Kim has been outrageous ever since!!

The other photo we have attached is the view from the deck attached to our room...sorry to rub it in, but we have earned it!!!

The weather today is cloudy and off and on rains. But the food is great, the other guests are fun - and Michael has never ending stories!!

Along with the great deal on drinks, inexpensive room rate - internet is $3US...for our whole stay - unlimited!!! If we can pull our selves away from snorkeling, diving, sleeping, eating, cheap drinks and the rest - we'll keep all you addicts up to date very frequently!!

Shel - glad you had the faith in us to make it to the top...what is Gord thinking??? And I have continued to be amazed at Kim's ability to find a bottle of wine and enjoy it no matter what the circumstances!!

We have also posted some corresponding pictures on the other posts...at this point it looks like the pictures aren't posting...I'll continue to work on this issue...

g&k

Discovery Channel

Ngorongoro Crater Lodge 5:45pm - First, it sounds like Stan the Man has come through for us. At 9:05am today, we received a phone call from Stanley from Jo'burg via our guides cell phone. Stan said that he had our 2 bags in front of him in his office and that he personally was going to put them on the plane to Kilimanjaro Airport this afternoon. The plan is for us to pick them up at Kili airport tomorrow morning...as long as the Kili airport staff don't all of a sudden become efficient and effective!!!

On the wildlife front...today was the day of lions. At about 10am we came across a male lion and a female lion sitting about 10m off the road. About 5 minutes later they were "doing it like they do on the Discovery Channel". Yes we saw the whole show. It only lasted about 20 seconds...good news Jenkins. And I feel a bit like a movie producer...it is all on film...Jenkins, you'll have to wait till we get home, sorry. Funny thing is, six hours later on our way back to the hotel, we passed the same lions in the same spot, still exhausted from the morning's activities!!!

Forgot to tell you about our "close encounter" experience while driving in the Serengeti fixing flat tires. As our guide pulls over to another 4x4 that has a flat...the other 4 vehicles don't have the right size tire iron...we see a guy with a Calgary Stampeders t-shirt. How much closer to home can you get!!! We snapped a few photos of the guy, he was trying to figure out why he had become such a celebrity...luckily our guide could explain the situation to him before he tried to charge us for the photos!!!

We have just finished a few beers on the patio overlooking the Ngorongoro Crater next to 2 couples from Britain. They were happy to hear our stories about lost luggage and climbing Kili...oh yeah, we have the finale of that for you coming up.

Now onto Kili, hopefully we haven't lost you along the way...we just about lost Kim...

We start climbing at midnight, right on time...but with only one headlamp, the other is in the "lost" luggage. We are prepared for 6 hours of straight up climbing or so we think. Just imagine no light, no sound...no nothing, except the heals of the climber in front of you...and the odd gagging vomit noise by other climbers. About 30 minutes into the climb I (Grant) hit a gut ache. Don't know whether from nerves or some bad water, but wrenching gut ache. At one point I am pants down, attempting relief in the rocks with no luck. Another 2 or so hours pass, at one of our rest spots, I tell Kim, that if I can't make it she has to go on...as she is looking fine! The look I get back is one of fear...not sure if it is fear for me or fear of safety or fear of summiting alone. At this point I have to give myself a little pep talk...luckily climbing Kili is mostly a head game at this point...it hurts, but we have come too far. I make it the next 2 hours no problem...now it is Kim's turn. At hour 4...she turns to me and says "I'm out". I hear about 40% real "I'm out" and about 60% "this just sucks, but I can make it" in the comment. Now I begin to give the pep talk to Kim. I sound like Tony Robbins on Kili. For the next 2 hours it is positive messages, "we have come to far to give up an hour short" or "it is just one step at a time, that is how everything great happens". At this point it is just mental anguish we are suffering...no headaches or nausea. At 6am we hit Stella Point...almost the top. The sun was just beginning to rise and the horizon was a glorious red. Our excellent guide, Kassim and assistant guide John gave us a spot of tea as we readied for the final trudge to Uhuru - 5895m the roof of Africa. This was about 150m in elevation and maybe 1km in total distance. And, yes - WE MADE IT!!! It wasn't easy, but we made it. What a feeling. I don't remember much of the views, but the camera will tell the story!!! Even more fun our 7 hours up took us one hour down! We scree ran the entire slope down. We were back in camp by 9am.

At this point we figured we would just climb right to the bottom...try to locate luggage and at least get a good nights sleep. 5 hours later we were at the bottom...so that is a total of 7 hours up...and 6 hours down...all on about 2 hours sleep!!!

This is our last day of safari...now we are off to Zanzibar at 2:15pm tomorrow...the real holiday begins!!!

We'll keep you posted, as the adventure continues!!

g&k

Wild Africa

Ngorogoro Crater Wildlife Lodge 5:30 pm - Lots to tell you so this may be long!!! First, back to Kili...we started Day 3 feeling a little anxious as our guide books say that this was the day to start feeling some altitude affects. Climbing uphill in strong winds, through barren landscape and after 3 hours we reached Lava Tower which, as you can guess, was a tower of lava in the middle of nowhere. A quick break for lunch at 4,600 m and on we went to Barannco camp. We saw some wild vegetation including the senecio plant which resembles a tall dessert palm and dwarfs humans making you feel like you're in a fairy tale. Camp was great with Kili looming large right next to us, although fog rolled in early but at least there was no wind. We woke up to frost on the ground and that amazing view of Kili before we started our first climb - "breakfast" (so named because you do it first thing in the morning). This a one hour scramble up a vertical rock face...very fun although a little precarious when Grant says "no problem, just hug the rock really closely as you come around" !?!?! But we made it to the top for some great views. Fortunately, so far so good on the altitude sickness - neither of us feel a thing. A couple more multiple hour uphill climbs, which is interesting that they don't seem to daunting when you're going pole pole (slowly, slowly) and we start a descent into our last camp before "summit attempt". This camp is nothing but huge boulders strewn out on a hill and somehow the porters manage to pitch tents amongst the rocks, in the fog. We're still feeling no affects of altitude so we're excited for tonight's challenge (yes, we have to get up at 11 pm to start this climb) but we know it could all end as we have 1,200 m yet to gain until we reach the summit. Starting the climb at midnight...check the next post for the gripping conclusion of Grant & Kim KILI 2005.

Back to the safari...our first three days have been amazing!! Everything we hoped to see, we've already seen (except the elusive Rhino). We rounded a corner and saw an elephant so close, I was certain he was going to jump in the truck with us - no word of a lie!!! Today, we rounded another corner to come face to face with 4 female lions, no further than 5 feet when they passed the truck. Velvet monkeys were permanent company at the lodge last night, jumping in and out of trucks looking for anything to eat (they are surely a nuisance to the locals but hilarious for us tourists!!). We never did manage to catch a glimpse of the python that also lived there, but that may be all for the best. Our wildlife viewing so far, as you can imagine, has also included baboons, giraffes, hippos, cheetahs and even a leopard!!! We'll try to post some pics if we can (especially the elephant!!).

Baggage update: nothing yet. Although we have found our new best friends in South Africa (after $20 US in phone calls today). Boney and Stanley. These are our guys. Our new brightest hope is Boney and Stanley from South Africa who are going to find our bags in time to get us our bathing suits for Zanzibar. We hope. Actually, we don't hold out much hope right now but it is becoming hilarious!!

We are happy to announce (NO, not that!!) that our "Kili Cleanse" officially ended on the first day of Safari. We had a beer for $2 (and 500 mL at that!!) watching the sun set over Lake Manyara...amazing! Jenkins - we thought of you several times as we downed the cheap, large beers!!

Nancy and Carla - you must have put Kim through the "MacEachern travel program". Every few moments, she's asking "do you have a $20...I don't have anything smaller". I'm beginning to think that she only travels with $100's.

We're now off to watch the sunset over Ngorongoro crater...with a beer!

K&G

Kili, Safari...more fun in Africa!

1:30 pm - Arusha. Update time - we finally made it to Kili!!!! However, our bags somehow did not. With less than 12 hours before we were to start our climb, we were standing in our hotel with only the clothes on our back and our packs. Inspired by our good friend Jack, who showed up at the base of Kili with nothing more than flip flops and shorts, we knew that we too could be resourceful. Thinking of Jack, we managed to rent or buy whatever we needed and by the next morning were happily off to Kili! We had a great guide named Kassim and our porters were also very friendly. Each day we'll give you a bit of an update to make the ending suspenseful - did we make it to the summit? The first day was hiking through incredible rain forest...lots of mud but arriving at our first night's camp with the sun setting on Kili was amazing! We set up camp (actually our porters set up camp) and much to our surprise, they set up an "eating tent" for us too! Tea and popcorn for a snack in the afternoon and a dinner far better than we ever imagined. The next morning, we set out again for about 3 hours of fairly steep hiking up to our lunch spot and then another 2 hours to the next camp. The only drawback was the wind which I'm sure was whipping around at 100 km an hour (OK, so I exagerate, but it was windy!!). Absolutely no sleep that night because the noise of the tent flapping in the wind was louder than thunder. No worries, since we're getting good at functioning with no sleep! By this time, we were up to 3,800 m altitude and so far - so good...no altitude problems!! More to come on the Kili climb later.

Arriving back to our hotel off of Kili we find that still no one has managed to locate our bags (nor does anyone seem to care). So, we hire a car to take us to the airport to check again and then off to Arusha for the beginning of our safari. We are now resigned to wearing whatever we have and discovered last night that a little laundry soap and a nalgene bottle work as an excellent substitude for a laundry machine. You can shake alot of dirt out in a nalgene bottle!! We're about to start our safari and have been pleasantly surprised that we'll be traveling with our own personal driver and no other clients.

Hopefully we'll find internet along the way to keep you updated!!

k&g

ps - And Mom, I think we should have rented helmets but we still made it off Kili safe and sound!! k

ongoing strike delays

Jo'burg Airport 11:00 am local time - Sitting in Jo'burg and we're definately not flying to Kenya as scheduled. Flight was late from London and there was just no way. Luckily, we are rebooked to fly straight into Kili airport and it looks like all plans from there will fall into place. Providing, of course, that they locate our luggage and get it on this flight!!

So far, we've learned how to queue (alot) and that queuing in Africa means one of two things. Either no one is working so please wait here indefinately or push your way through to the front. We chose the latter which is how we got ourselves on the Kili flight.

If all goes well, the only thing we miss now is one leisurely recovery night after coming off Kili. Currently we expect to walk off the mountain, into a shower and out to safari...all in the span of a few minutes.

Grant is a fabulous reality check to my massive swings in emotion from optimism to pessimism and elation to disappointment.

Hopefully the next time you hear from us, it will be a report of no altitude sickness, successful summits and wild african animals.

k&g

You want an upgrade??

London-Heathrow: We thought our plan to get an upgrade was going to be our biggest hassle...wow...were we wrong!

Currently, we have been stuck in London for an extra day. When we arrived in London, we were told our flight to Jo'burg was cancelled and we had to go to the hotel and they would let us know when we would get out. This was 2pm London time. At 10pm Sunday night they told us we would get on a 7:30p flight out to Jo'burg with no guarantee in getting to Nairobi and onto Kili.

So here we wait. We now fly at 7:30pm...exactly 24 hours later than planned...and all other flights on our journey are up in the air!

We talked to our Kili tour organizer and they hope to be very accomodating to us...if we can get there!!! We thought traveling in Africa was going to be difficult...but we can't even get there!!!

g&k

SAA

July 28, 2005 - 9:35 am

The strike is over!! It's not really an "adventure trip" until you risk losing all the money you've paid because flight and ground crew unions for your airline decide to strike days before your departure! We are happy to report that mediation reigns supreme and South African Airways (SAA) should be flying at full capacity by Saturday...a mere few hours before we need to be on the plane to Africa!

All I know is that everything happens for a reason and I have now learned that: even though Fae at Air Canada says that SAA can change their flight reservations and Irvine at SAA agrees and even adds that you can transfer your ticket to British Airways no problem ("just a quick telex message and it's all done"), Beth at SAA is adamant that there is no way in hell they ever do that!! Bob at British Airways is very accommodating saying "sure he can bump us to First Class all the way and SAA will pick up the tab". Back to Louis at SAA who assures us that it's no problem to transfer the ticket but just "not yet"...none of these people actually know what they're doing. I'm amazed that planes ever get anywhere with anyone on them!!

K

Anticipation

5 days of work left, vacation brain is beginning!!

Most people who have traveled know that there are always challenges, our travels look to be no different. Over the weekend South African Airways (SAA) has been effected by a strike by their cabin crews, so they cancelled all flights. Most of our flights are with SAA, so we may have a radically changed itinerary over the next few days!

If you feel like reaching out to the Bloggers/travelers, feel free to either email us at macafrica@gmail.com or leave a comment at the appropriate spot at the end of each posting.

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The Launch

Thanks for stopping by and sharing our African adventure!!

Now that we have "publicized" our blog, we will try to update it as much as possible. From Aug 2-8 we will be on Kilimanjaro, so there won't be any posts. But after that we'll have stories from Kili and updates as we go.

See you on the 27th at OJ's on 4th Street!

g

Practice Makes Perfect

Kim and I figured that the best way to "simulate" hiking Kilimanjaro, was to climb our local mountains. Our buddy Murray had been running up Sulphur Mountain, so we thought we better join in. For those who know Sulphur Mountain (www.banffgondola.com) understand that running up this mountain isn't exactly easy or normal. Well, nobody ever said Murray was normal.
With Murray running up the 5.5km trail in about 47 minutes, Kim and I hike up in about 1 1/4 hours. The first time we summited (as we like to call it) I was doing a full simulation...pack on the back full of stuff, camelbak full of water, "pole, ple" pace...everything. Kim on the other hand was in a race to the top...although she would turn around periodically to see if I was still alive. On our second summit (2 weeks later), Kim choose to carry a pack up - filled with a bag of flour, cans of tomatoes and whatever else she could find (if the kitchen sink wasn't attached to the counter, it would have been going up the hill as well!)
Sulphur is about a 690m elevation gain over the 5.5km ascent. In terms of Kili, we will have to gain about 4000m over 35km. Sulphur's summit is at 2281m, Kili's summit 5895m...so we are training, but not kidding ourselves!

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New Wardrobe

To counter the negative experience of the immunization, a positive shopping extravaganza for all those necessities was next. You would think that hiking up a mountain (where you are renting the cold weather clothing) for a couple of Canadians that live 60 minutes from the mountains would be pretty straight forward. Let me tell you, I had no idea how ill prepared for hiking I was. No hiking pants, no hiking shorts, no hiking socks, no hiking shirts - luckily I do have hiking boots, as does Kim. Mountain Equipment Co-of is definitely going to notice a sales spike.

You have to buy "trekking" pants if you are going to trek, right? Even if those trekking pants convert in to shorts, you still need a pair of trekking shorts, right? Even if you have hiked in normal wool socks before, you have to spend about $30 for a pair of hi-tech socks and liner, right? What the hell is a hiking shirt? I own 2, but I don't know what they did to make them hiking compatible???

Of course by climbing to the altitude we are, keeping hydrated is very necessary. The best way to stay hydrated - a "backpack" hydration system. 2 litre capacity - plus carry a couple of Nalgene bottles.

With all this new gear, I need a new sack to carry this all around in. Oh, don't forget the sleeping bag liner.

Remember...this is just me...as a guy, I am not as practiced at this whole shopping thing...Kim on the other hand - pro. I had to plug the meter once while we were shopping and Kim's brother plugged it another time. He came down to visit us during our 3 hour adventure.

Now that I have organized the first purchases, I have realized what I am missing...so MEC will have another visit from the shopping tornado!

g

Immunization

Wow, Kim kept telling me she didn't like needles, but I thought it was just a BIT of fear...not absolute, complete, I'll do anything not to get stabbed with a needle - fear. On the way to the travel clinic I had to keep the doors locked, for the flight risk was high. I could tell Kim was a bit nervous, but didn't really grasp the depth of the apprehension until we got in to the clinic. There was a bit of nervous laughter in the waiting room, followed by a few laughing tears. As we sit down with the doctor to start reviewing what we need, we start with Kim. I was on standby in case Kim passed out, just from the discussion of needles. Once Kim realized she was going to have 4 needles, I was concerned she might leap out of the chair and make a break for it...seriously. There was no break for the door, no tears in front of the doctor, just a brave face - a pale brave face, but brave none the less.

Kim was going to get her needles first. The nurse asks Kim to sit in the regular chair and Kim pipes up - "I don't think the chair would be the best option." Nurse - "Okay, we'll get you to lay down." Kim - "That is best, as I am going to pass out." Nurse - "Lets put you in the recliner then - that way you can't roll off anything."

Kim, now seated in the recliner, is ready for the first needle...until it is visible. As soon as it comes near her, her upper body becomes completely tense. As the nurse goes to inject the first needle, it bounces off her arm. The nurse and I try to get Kim's mind off the needles, we are asking her about the safari. The nurse asks what are you going to see on the safari. The answer that Kim gives is - animals. Yep, that's all we get - animals. Thanks for the blinding glimpse of the obvious Kim. At the completion of the fourth needle...everyone was okay...I did have to double check to make sure the hand that Kim was holding was still attached to my arm. Even Kim was still awake and none the worse for wear...or so I thought. As I asked her how she was doing, she is about to say ok and between o and k she passed out...cold.

Never having seen a person pass out, I was a bit concerned, but was half expecting this. The nurse was very calm, so I thought no problem. After about 10 seconds, Kim swings her head to the otherside and then wakes up - but not like waking up from sleep. She experiences a bit of a "seizure" as she comes to. This is a bit freaky - the look on my face was priceless - the nurse enjoyed the general gong show that was taking place in her office! As Kim was rejoining us, her face went full red...then white...then her nose and mouth turned a really nice shade of green. The look on her face was one of absolute confusion and panic. After about 30 seconds things settled down and Kim was left to recover. She stood up after about 30 minutes and then I figured out what this was really all about. I got stuck paying for our complete set of shots...she had been watching my Scottish tendacy's and has mastered them!

We are supposed to get a booster shot in 6 months, I am going to surprise Kim with this visit...I can't take another episode like this!

g

Planning done...now what

All of the details have been finalized...but still 11 weeks till the trip is underway. The part of the planning process that Kim is looking forward to most is coming up - immunization. This is the girl that gets wousy feeling just talking about a paper cut!
Knowing what the adventure is going to be, we can start shopping for the appropriate adventure clothing. Who knew you had to get special hats, pants, socks, bags, shirts, water purifiers and headlamps just for holidays.
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The Beginning

The Kim and Grant Africa Adventure 2005 germinated in March 2004 while traveling in Mexico. Kim was certainly not interested in leaving sunny Mexico and returning to snow and cold in Calgary. So the only way to get her on the plane home was to start planning the next adventure...Africa.

It began to gain steam as we talked with others who have been to Africa, with the finalization of the plan in the Fall of 2004. Tanzania was the destination...climb Kilimanjaro, safari and relax on Zanzibar where the targets. Then we added a few days in Cape Town, South Africa to satisfy Kim's need for wine!

Starting July 30, 2005, this blog will be updated as available once the Africa Adventure begins (hopefully we'll have lots of entertaining happenings for you)

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